M&A

10 November, 2009

HSBC eyes UK assets to be sold by Lloyds, RBS

* Says would be interested in "certain" British portfolios

* Says should be eligible to participate in any auction

* Wants "level playing field" for bidders

LONDON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - British bank HSBC (HSBA.L) could bid for assets bailed-out rivals Lloyds (LLOY.L) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) will be forced to sell to satisfy EU antitrust worries, chief executive Michael Geoghegan said.

"HSBC would be interested in certain portfolios," Geoghegan told reporters on a conference call on Tuesday.

Geoghegan said, after releasing the bank's third-quarter trading statement, that HSBC was worried it could be barred from bidding if British government efforts to boost competition keep out incumbent players. [ID:nLA635993]

"We are somewhat frustrated that it would appear there may not be a level playing field in regard to this, in regard to who is eligible to acquire these portfolios," he said.

As part of a deal struck last week and aimed at appeasing British authorities and EU competition regulators, Lloyds and RBS agreed to sell a string of assets including RBS's insurance unit and more than 900 branches between them over four years. [ID:nL3540088]

"HSBC is not a large bank in the UK and I would hope we have the right to bid for portfolios if they become available, because we have demonstrated that we do run a bank in a conservative and proper manner," Geoghegan said, declining to comment on the exact assets the bank could bid for. (Reporting by Clara Ferreira-Marques; editing by Elaine Hardcastle)

Source: http://www.reuters.com